Death in Living
by georgie-pie
Summary: HP Seventh Year...Harry's dreams have returned. Voldemort is in full power. New alay. New characters possibly. I Suck at summeries...PLZ R&R!
1. Chapter 1

The blazing fire upon a hearth was the only source of light in the distant room. A dozen death eaters or so stood circling a young boy and a man in dark robes. The boy had tousled blonde hair and wore the same black robes as the death eaters surrounding him. His piercing grey eyes were staring at the clocked man in terror. The man's face was hidden so all the boy could see was black. He had seen the man's face before. It was nothing human. He had scorching red eyes and two slits for a nose. There was nothing human about this man.

The man raised a wand and the boy cowered before him.

"You think you can disobey the dark lord?" the man bellowed. "You disappoint me young Malfoy. Why did you not do as I asked? As your lord Voldemort asked?" the dark lord said.

"I apologize my lord. I-I don't know what came over me my lord." Malfoy answered.

"My lord leave him be. He's only a child!" a death eater stepped forward.

"Ah Lucius. You only say such things because he is yours. You don't want me to kill Draco do you?" Voldemort said.

"No my lord I do not." Lucius said. He went down on one knee and bowed his head. "I know he means nothing to you my lord but he is my son. Do not kill him."

"Lucius you do not care if he dies. You just want an heir. Someone to continue the Malfoy name. You don't want your name to die." Voldemort said. He sneered and turned back to the boy. "CRUCIO!" he yelled.

Suddenly Draco screamed in pain. He fell to the floor, thrashing. Then just as quickly as the pain came it diminished. Faded away into the darkness. He was left shaking on the damp floor.

Voldemort knelt down beside him. "There, there Draco. It doesn't hurt that much. Oh come now. Poor boy. You must be in so much pain." The dark lord smirked under the dim of his hood. "Lucius. You kill him or I will. And we both know that wont be any fun for the boy."

"No father! Don't!" Draco screamed. "I beg you my lord do not kill me. It was a mistake. Snape killed the old man anyway. He's dead! Gone! What difference does it make who killed him?" Silent tears were streaming down Draco's face.

"All the difference in the world my boy. You disobeyed me. You could not do as I asked." The dark lord sighed. "You are weak and I don't need you." He walked up to a man and patted him on the shoulder.

"You know what to do." He whispered.

"It would be my pleasure my lord." The death eater said. He advanced on Draco. He pulled a chain out of his robes.

"You know Draco. Muggle torture is just as painful as curses. Only the bruises take longer to heal. Do it Audrey." Voldemort said smugly.

The death eater, Audrey, raised the chain and whipped Draco across the face with it. He continued to do so all over the boy's body.

The dark lord laughed. "Oh I do love this sort of thing. Isn't it fun, Lucius?"

"My lord, please stop. He does not need this." Lucius replied.

"Oh, of course he doesn't." Voldemort moved his face closer to Lucius'. "But I do." He whispered. He smiled and turned back to watch.

Audrey paused, smiling. "Anyone else want to join me?" He yelled.

The death eaters cheered and they all jumped at the opportunity. They all took out knives and wands. Preparing to cause the young boy even more pain.

Meanwhile Draco was screaming and crying out to his father for help. Lucius did nothing but watch as his son was little by little beaten to death.

The dark lord stood and took out his wand. "CRUCIO!" He bellowed.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry sat bolt upright panting. The lightning scar on his forehead was sweltering in pain. He ran his finger over it and came back with blood.

"Damn." He whispered. He reached over to his bedside table and grabbed his glasses. He put them on and slipped out of bed. He went to his wardrobe and opened the door to reveal a mirror. He examined his scar further. It looked normal, except for the blood of course.

His bright green eyes were tired and confused. His raven hair was ruffled with sleep. His pajamas were hanging off of him. They were Dudley's old pajamas. And considering Dudley was twice Harry's size, anything Harry inherited from him was always huge and hanging off of him.

Harry was a pretty average boy. Other then that he was a sixteen, soon to be seventeen, year old wizard. He attended, or had attended, Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. In his sixth year, about two weeks ago, a professor murdered the headmaster of the school. Severus Snape. A professor who had been a supporter of the dark lord. Everyone believed him to be innocent. Out of the blue he killed the headmaster. Professor Dumbledore. Harry had become very close to Dumbledore in the past few years. His death devastated Harry, along with millions of others.

Harry started pacing. His scar still burning. He glanced at his clock. It read 3:00 am. He hadn't had dreams about Voldemort for about a year. Which confused him. Why would he be having dreams now? He thought they were gone. This bothered him.

He sat on his bed and tried to recall what had happened in the dream. He remembered torture. And lots of it. But who was Voldemort torturing? Who was the blonde boy being beaten to death?

Before Harry could muster up any more questions, there was a loud crack from outside. He raced to the window to see what had happened.

In the middle of Privet drive laid the blonde boy Harry had seen in his dream. The boy looked as though he was trying to crawl away from something, or to something.

Harry didn't know what to do. He put his head to his wall to listen for any movements from the Dursley's. Nothing.

He ran back to the window. The boy had stopped moving. Harry quietly grabbed a pair of sneakers from his wardrobe and a sweater. He slipped on the shoes and quietly made his way out the door. He stopped short. He turned back and snatched his wand from his desk and headed for the door. He pulled his sweater over his head before he left the Dursley house.

Once outside he raced to the boy. As he got closer he realized the boy wasn't really a boy at all. It was Malfoy. Harry stopped short. Draco Malfoy was lying unconscious in the middle of Privet drive at three o'clock in the morning.

Voldemort was torturing Malfoy? Harry didn't know what to do. Should he help Malfoy who for years had bothered him about the most ridiculous things?

Malfoy wasn't moving. Harry could barely even tell if he was breathing. Harry knew he had to help him. It was the right thing to do. Plus it wouldn't be so bad to have Malfoy owe him.

Harry knelt down next to Malfoy and attempted to lift him up. He failed. Malfoy was too heavy, not to mention he was about half of a foot taller than Harry. Harry fell to the pavement with a grunt.

Malfoy stirred.

_Well at least he's alive_. Harry thought. He used all his effort to lift Malfoy from the ground. Malfoy groaned and his head fell forwards onto his chest. He stared at Malfoy for a moment. Malfoy's face was bruised and his clothes were torn. There was dried blood in his hair and on his robes.

"What did they do to him?" Harry muttered. He had never been in a situation like this before. What was he to do? He had an unconscious enemy lying in the middle of the street. It was because of him that Dumbledore was dead. He let the death eaters into the castle.

Harry thought about writing a letter to someone. _But who? _Harry thought. _The ministry? No. I do have a death eater by my house. But the ministry would make a big deal out of it though and bring in aurors. Hermione? Yeah right. She'd probably just tell me to call the ministry. Ron? That's laughable. Hey, Ron, Malfoy's at the Dursley's right now! No more Sirius or Dumbledore to tell. I could just bring him to Grimald Place. That's not a bad idea._

Harry pocketed his wand and wrapped his hands around Malfoy's wrists. He pictured number 12 Grimald Place in his mind. Then the familiar sensation of being sucked though a tube came over him. Before he knew it there was a loud crack and he was standing in front of number 12 Grimald Place.

He lugged Malfoy to the door and muttered a password. Before he knew it the door swung open and Mr. Weasley was stood before him in night robes.

"Harry my boy." He said. "What on earth are you doing here at this hour?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Weasley. I didn't know you were going to be here. I don't know how it happened, but Malfoy just turned up out side my house. I didn't know what to do so I just figured I'd come here." Harry said.

"My goodness. What happened to him?"

"I-I don't know. He just apparated into the middle of the street. I think Volde-. Sorry. I think You-Know-Who did it to him."

"What would give you that idea Harry?"

"Well you see. Just before he apparated. I was having a dream."

"Oh. I see. Well come in quickly. Molly will clean him up." Mr. Weasley gave Harry a sad smile. "Let me help you with him."

Mr. Weasley put his arm under Malfoy's left arm, leaving Harry in charge of the right arm. Together they lugged Malfoy into the main room and dropped him onto a couch. Malfoy groaned.

Harry hated this place. It reminded him of Sirius. Sirius had left him the house and all the positions in it as well as Buckbeak.

Buckbeak was the hippogriff Sirius used to escape on when Harry was in his third year.

"I'll go get Molly." Mr. Weasley said. He turned and headed for the stairs.

"Thank you Mr. Weasley." Harry said. Mr. Weasley stopped short.

He smiled and said. "Your welcome Harry."

Harry returned the smile. The smile didn't quite reach his eyes though. He looked back at Malfoy who seemed to be stirring.

Just then Molly Weasley and two of the seven Weasley children plus Hermione came down the stairs. Ron and Ginny.

Molly and Ginny went over to Malfoy immedietly. They had some bandages and wands to fix him up.

Hermione beamed with delight and took Harry in an embrace.

"Oh Harry it's so good to see you." Hermione said. "How've you been?"

"Loosing sleep actually and yourself?" Harry said.

"I'm good." Hermione said.

"Hey Harry." Ron said with sleep still in his eyes. "So what are you doing here anyway? I thought you hated this place."

"Well look on the couch." Harry said.

Hermione and Ron both turned to look at the couch and it's contents.

"What the bloody hell is he doing here?" Ron yelled.

"Ron, keep it down." Harry said. "I found him. He was lying in the middle of Privet drive. What was I supposed to do? Leave him there to die?"

"Yeah." Ron argued.

"Ronald." Hermione said. "Admit it. You would help him too."

"No I wouldn't."

"Yes. Yes you would."

Ron scowled. Hermione frowned.

"You two are being so ridiculous." Harry said.

"Harry you're the one being ridiculous. Bringing Malfoy. Here! Harry this is Grimald place! What were you thinking?" Hermione said.

Harry sighed. "I don't know what I was thinking. I had to help him."

"But here, Harry?" Hermione said. "Couldn't you have taken him to St. Mungo's or something? It's dangerous bringing him here. Someone could have followed you here. You don't know how he got there."

"There's something else." Harry said. "Before I found him I had a dream. Voldemort was torturing him. He almost died. I think I saw it happen. He was the one that was supposed to kill Dumbledore. He couldn't do it. That's why Snape did it. He did it to save Malfoy."

"Are you sure?" Ron said.

"Ron, look at him. You think I made this up." Harry said.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other. Harry could see concern on both of their faces. They were scared for him.

"Look I have to get back to the Dursley's before they wake up. See you guys late." Harry said. He shook his head and headed for the door. He stopped in front of it. He turned back. "It was good to see you guys though. Bye."

He left. He closed his eyes and once outside again the familiar sensation of being sucked though a tube came upon him. When he opened his eyes he was standing in front of the Dursley's home.

He sighed and entered the house. He crept up the stairs and back up to his room. He whipped off his sweater and lay back down in his bed. He stared at the ceiling for a while. Eventually his vision started bluring, even with his glasses. He took them off and laid them on his desk. Before he knew it he was asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry was awakened by the thumping of Dudley's fat fist against the door. "Get up Potter! Dad says it's time for breakfast!" Dudley yelled. "It's already eight thirty!"

Harry groaned and sat up. He reached his glasses and put them on. Harry got out of bed, went to his wardrobe and opened it. He grabbed a random t-shirt and some jeans. He slipped out of his pajamas and pulled on the shirt. He pulled his jeans on and went down to the kitchen.

Dudley was already at the table and stuffing his face. He was staring intently at the television.

"What are you watching Dudley?" Harry said smugly. He took a seat next to Dudley and grabbed a muffin. Dudley didn't even look up. "Idiot." Harry muttered.

Harry didn't even see it coming. Uncle Vernon had used a rolled up newspaper to smack Harry on the back of the head. "Ouch." Harry groaned.

"Don't say thing like that about your cousin." Uncle Vernon's fat purple face was angry so Harry shut up.

"Ah, Vernon, did you hear something last night?" Harry's Aunt Petunia said. She appeared out of nowhere. Must have been behind the counter.

"Yes as a matter of fact I did." Vernon replied eyeing Harry.

Harry turned his attention to his muffin and said nothing.

"I could have sworn I heard the door open last night around about three o' clock." Vernon said.

"Did you now?" Harry muttered.

"Shut up boy." Vernon said.

He did.

"What were you doing last night boy?" Vernon demanded.

"N-nothing. Sleeping." Harry lied quickly.

"A likely story. Why are you so tired?"

"I'm not tired." Harry lied again.

Vernon eyed his nephew.

"Honestly Uncle Vernon what could I have been doing?" Harry said.

Vernon scowled and slapped the muffin out of Harry's hand. Harry's eyes went wide. Vernon looked like he was about to backhand Harry.

"Now. Go outside and cut the grass. NOW!" Vernon yelled.

"Yes Uncle Vernon." Harry raced out the door to the yard.

Life went on like so for the next few weeks. Harry had more dreams and his scar was almost always hurting now. He was sitting on his bed. He stared at the book Hermione had sent him for his birthday. _'Ancient curses and how to detect them.' _His birthday was in a matter of minutes.

He looked over at the clock. It read 11:58 pm. It changed to 11:59.

The time gave him a thought. In exactly on minute the Dursley's house would no longer protect him. If Voldemort wanted to attack this would be the best time to do it.

Harry put the four-inch thick book on the floor and slid it under his bed. He lay down on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

Then, Harry's scar started stinging. It had happened so many times that summer that he thought nothing of it.

He groaned and rolled onto his side closing his eyes. Uncomfortable he turned to face the opposite side of his bed. He opened his eyes. He nearly screamed at the figure that stood before him. He took a deep breath in to say something but the figure placed his had over Harry's mouth to muffle any sound.

"Shh. Harry, don't say anything. You'll only make it hurt more." Lord Voldemort smirked. He took his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at Harry then removed his hand from Harry's mouth.

Harry jumped to his feet. His breathing was fast. He felt as though his heart was going to pop out of his chest. He scrambled for his wand. He turned away for a second and when he turned back Voldemort was gone.

"I'm not really here Harry." Voldemort's voice echoed through Harry's room.

"What do you mean?" Harry whispered for fear of waking the Dursley's.

"I mean, Harry I'm, not, here." Voldemort laughed. "Now, now Harry. Don't make it worse." He backhanded Harry and sent him flying across the room.

He knelt down next to Harry. He grabbed Harry by the hair and lifted his head causing Harry to whimper. He then slammed Harry's face into the floor with a thump.

Harry could feel blood coming from his nose. It was probably broken. He crawled for the door. Voldemort grabbed him by the left forearm and lifted him off the ground.

Harry's arm and scar instantly started burning. He screamed in agony. He felt like his arm was going to liquefy. The scorching heat on his arm was mind-boggling. He screamed louder.

He could just barely hear his Aunt and Uncle hammering on the door.

"What's going on in there Potter!" Uncle Vernon yelled.

Voldemort glanced at the door. "Tell them to go back to bed Harry. Unless you want to watch them die." He demanded. He squeezed Harry's arm even tighter. Harry screamed.

"Nothing! Bad dream. I-I mean I…ah! Nothing!" Harry lied. He was on the verge of losing consciousness. Black dots were swimming in front of his vision.

"Well done Harry. Well done." Voldemort said. He looked pleased.

"If you're going to kill me, you might as well do it now." Harry panted.

"Harry." Voldemort let go and Harry fell to the floor once again. "Like I said before. I'm not really here. I cannot kill you. Only inflict pain and suffering." His eyes turned scarlet. His mouth twisted into a smile and he pushed Harry to his back with his foot. He placed his foot across Harry's throat, crushing Harry's windpipe.

Instantly Harry started thrashing. Oxygen couldn't get to his lungs or heart. Black dots were swimming in front of his vision.

He recognized two other voices from the hall. None of who belonged to the Dursleys. He looked up at Voldemort.

"Consider yourself lucky Harry. I will be back again." Voldemort sneered. He lifted his foot from Harry's throat and in a surge of wind he vanished.

Harry still couldn't breathe. After a moment his door burst open and two figures approached him as everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry opened his eyes and found himself lying on a dusty old bed. There was a small fire burning, causing shadows to dance around the walls. He had no idea where he was. Who were those two people? Where was Voldemort?

His arm was still aching. He noticed that it had been bandaged. He touched his arm and grimaced. His hand came back with blood on it. He looked at his arm and the wrappings had turned scarlet. More pain overwhelmed him. He cried out in alarm.

"Someone help me!" He yelled. He started panicking when no one came. "Please!" The pain was unbelievable. He started scratching at the bandages, trying to rip them off.

Molly Weasley burst through the door followed by Hermione and Ginny.

"Please help me." Harry panicked.

Molly knelt down beside the bed. She took out her wand and some more bandages. "Don't worry Harry. We'll have you fixed up in a jiffy." Molly reassured him. She gave him a gloomy smile.

Ginny went to his side too. She sat down next to her mother and tried to calm him by stroking his hair, whispering things like 'You're going to be alright.' And 'Don't worry Harry, mom will help you.'

Hermione stood thunderstruck. She didn't know what to do. She was looking around the room trying to find something to help him with.

Molly removed the bandage to reveal a bloody mess. Harry whimpered and grimaced, his head thrashing. Ginny kept trying to quiet him.

"It 's alright Harry. You're going to be fine." Molly said. "Hermione go get a pot of tea started. Alright?"

"Mrs. Weasley I don't think that tea is going to do anything for any of us right now." Hermione said. Her voice was high and panicked.

"Harry will need something to calm his nerves after I finish up here." Molly replied. She had finally finished cleaning the wound on Harry's arm. She quickly grabbed her wand. She whispered a spell and the bandages magically wrapped themselves around the wound.

Hermione left the room muttering to herself.

Harry stopped thrashing. The pain in his arm subsided significantly. His breathing calmed and his heart stopped racing. His whole body relaxed.

Molly smiled. She passed Harry his glasses so he could see. "I'll go help Hermione with the tea." She got up and left Harry and Ginny alone.

"Are you alright?" Ginny said. She had lines on her face that said she was concerned. "You've been unconscious for the past four days."

Harry's eyes grew wide at that. "What? Four days? That's impossible." He said.

"You would have random fevers and your scar would just start bleeding. We've had to change the bandage on your arm two to three times a day. You were losing so much blood. We thought you might die." Ginny said.

Harry tried sitting up and was unsuccessful. He grimaced. Ginny put her arm around his shoulders and helped him lift himself up.

Once sitting he panted as if he had just run a race.

"Are you alright?" Ginny said.

"Fine. I just. Why am I so out of breath?" Harry asked. He was puzzled. Why did it take so much effort to sit up? Imagine walking. He didn't want to think about that yet.

"You have to remember that you've lost a lot of blood." Ginny said. "What happened anyway?"

_What did happen? _Harry thought. He didn't really remember. He remembered Voldemort and pain. Lots of pain.

"It was Voldemort." Harry said finally. "He. I don't know how, but he was in my room. He was going to kill me Ginny." He looked down at his arm.

Ginny's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Are you sure, Harry?" She said.

Harry nodded. The lump in his throat would not permit him to speak.

"Do you want me to get Ron?" Ginny said. She wiped away a tear and stood up.

Harry cleared his throat. "Yeah." He said.

"Alright." Ginny spun on her heal and left the room.

Moments later Hermione entered carrying a tray filled with teacups and a pot. Her brown hair had been pulled back into a bun to keep it from falling into her face while she was making the tea. "Not screaming now I see." She said. She smiled. Her smile faded when she saw Harry's face. She put the tray down and pulled a chair up next to the bed.

"I don't want to know what happened I just want to know you're alright." She said. "I know. I know everyone's been asking you if you're okay. Just. Please, Harry, don't lie to me. If you aren't. I think I have the right to know."

"I don't know what happened." Harry said. "I was trying to sleep and then. There he was. He just. It hurt, Hermione. It was the most unbelievable pain. You can't even begin to imagine what it felt like. And all he did was touch me. He wasn't even there. Not physically anyway. I'm finally realizing the extent of his powers. He could have killed me from hundreds of miles away. And there's nothing I could do to stop him."

Tears were now streaming down his face, as well as Hermione's.

Just then Ron entered. Harry wiped away the tears. "Awake at last." Ron said. "How are you, mate?"

Hermione shook her head.

Ron noticed the tears. "Oh, er. Never mind." He said quickly. "So did anyone tell you that Malfoy's been staying here?"

Harry looked up. "What?" He said.

"Yeah. Turns out he wants to be good. " Ron said. He smiled.

"Really? Well I've had just about enough of this." Harry said.

"Enough of what?" Hermione asked. Her brown eyes were puzzled.

With his right hand, Harry whipped the blankets off. He flung his legs over the side of the bed. He carefully placed both feet on the ground. He grabbed the bedpost and put weight onto his feet. He gradually pulled himself into a standing position. He cradled his left arm in his chest and stood up. Once steady he took a step forward. Then another.

"Look. No hands." Harry joked. He smiled. "Well now we know I can walk. I'm going to go and say 'hello' to the rest of the house." He walked for the door.

"Harry I don't think you should do that." Hermione said.

"And why not. I'm walking aren't I?"

"Harry you're not well. You should be in bed, resting."

"Hermione I've been asleep for the past four days. I think I've had enough rest." He mounted the stairs. _Easy does it Harry. _He thought_. One step at a time. _

He reached the top. Beside him was the room Buckbeak had been kept in while he was here. Inside the room, paint was splattered everywhere. The walls, the ceiling, even the floor. Harry entered cautiously. He was unprepared for what he would find in the room.

Draco Malfoy stood with his back to Harry. His white t-shirt and blue jeans were covered in paint. There were specks of paint in his hair and on his face. A paintbrush hung loosely in his left hand. He took a step back to admire his work.

One of the walls had been completely transformed. An astounding landscape had been spread across the one wall. A broken down chateau stood tall on the right hand side of the wall. There was a shadowy forest behind it filled with dead trees.

"Wow." Harry broke the silence.

Draco jumped. "Don't scare me like that Potter!" He yelled.

"Sorry."

"Well? What do you think?" Draco smiled and looked back at his masterpiece.

"I like it. How long have you been painting?" Harry asked.

"Since I was nine." Draco started pacing. "My mother gave me an art set. I loved it. But when I started painting 'happy things' my father took it away from me."

"You're good."

"I've had practice. I painted anyway. My bedroom closet is full of paintings. The walls all have something on them as well. I never let my father in there."

Harry laughed.

"So I guess I owe you one. Thanks." Draco said.

"Don't mention it."

"I suppose this is the part where I say 'Is there anything I can do to repay you? Anything at all?'" Draco said mockingly.

"Actually yeah."

"Potter now that's just rude. You're now supposed to say 'Oh no it was my pleasure.' Why don't you say that?" Draco argued.

"You'll like this." Harry said.

Draco raised one eyebrow.

"I want you to paint. Any wall in this house you want. It is mine after all." Harry said. "I don't like it now. I want it to be different. I don't want it to remind me of Sirius."

"Sirius? Sirius Black?" Draco asked.

"Yeah. This was his house. He left it to me. All of his possessions. Money. Everything. I was like his son. He was the only parent I ever knew." Harry smiled.

"Hmm. So what happened to your arm?" Draco said.

"Voldemort's what happened." Harry replied. Draco flinched at the name.

Harry rubbed his arm. It did not bleed this time. It still stung though. "I don't even know what he did. He just touched me."

"I see. So, how did you find me anyway?" Draco changed the subject.

"You were lying in the middle of the street. Kind of hard not to."

Draco frowned. "I must have apparated out of there. I don't know how but I must have. Right?"

Harry shrugged.


End file.
